Action anime is a diverse genre that includes many of the most popular anime series. At its core, action anime revolves around intense fight scenes, often featuring sword fights or gun battles. Known for their excitement and intensity, these series also boast some of the best animation in the industry. Many of the highest-rated anime of all time fall into this category. Here, we explore some of the best action anime series released to date.

Attack on Titan

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There may be a bit of recency bias involved, but many believe that Attack on Titan is one of the best action anime series ever. While the ending left many a bit disappointed, the series as a whole is very well written and full of intense and exciting fights. There are many surprising character twists, and the characters are developed better in Attack on Titan than in almost any other action series ever. Attack on Titan is also known for having some of the best animation of any anime ever. This is especially true of the first three seasons, before the series began to rely a bit too much on CGI animation. While Attack on Titan is not perfect, it’s still an instant classic and certainly worth a watch.

One Punch Man

One Punch Man is one of the most unique twists on action anime. It is a self-aware series that consciously parodies many different aspects of action anime. For example, the hero, Saitama, is extremely overpowered and can defeat almost any opponent with a single punch. This level of power actually makes him incredibly bored. While the series does poke fun at many of the action anime tropes, it is also a great action anime series itself. It features highly entertaining fights with a very unique art and animation style, unlike almost any other anime series.

Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, active action anime series, and for good reason. It has a good mix of sword fighting and fighting with magic. It also has some of the best art and animation of any currently active series. It features CGI animation and effects extensively, but unlike many competing series, the CGI is usually very well integrated with the traditional animation. This is especially true with fights featuring the protagonist, Tanjiro, who becomes a demon slayer to get vengeance after his family is slaughtered by demons. Demon Slayer has several highly rated seasons and movies, all of which are certainly worth watching.

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is considered one of the greatest anime ever made in its genre. This sci-fi action anime follows a group of bounty hunters who hunt down and capture various criminals while all confronting hidden problems from their pasts. Cowboy Bebop has a light-hearted, jazzy approach, with one of the most iconic soundtracks of any anime ever. However, the gun fights and hand-to-hand combat are still intense and thrilling. Cowboy Bebop even ends with one of the most iconic action-packed conclusions of any action series ever.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Any list of the greatest action anime would be missing a piece without Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Often considered the greatest anime ever made, and certainly one of the greatest action anime ever, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood follows Ed and Al, two brothers who embark on a quest to use alchemy to put Ed’s soul back in his body, as Al was forced to affix it to a suit of armor after a spell gone horribly wrong. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood excels in almost every way, from the writing to the art, to the animation, and even the accurate and impactful sound effects. If you’ve never watched a single anime series before and you are considering getting into anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a good place to start.

Anime has become a global phenomenon in recent years, and the isekai genre has spurred a great deal of that growth. Isekai anime is a wide-ranging genre that features protagonists who are taken from their normal world and inserted into fantastical new realms.

Isekai anime protagonists are often transported to video game worlds, but this is not always the case. No matter what type of new world the protagonist is taken to, isekai anime are known for offering unique worlds, epic adventures with special effects, and magic with fantasy elements, as well as some of the most entertaining fights in anime.

Read on to learn more about the best isekai anime that you need to watch, ranked for their entertainment value and influence on the series that followed.

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World

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Re:Zero is often credited as the series that sparked the isekai anime boom. This series features Subaru Natsuki, who is suddenly transported to a fantasy world, as is commonly the case with protagonists in isekai anime. However, he doesn’t have any special abilities, except for the ability to resurrect after he dies.

This makes the anime much darker than most isekai anime, as the protagonist has to endure painful deaths over and over again. In addition to being darker than most of the series in the genre, it also features unpredictable plot twists. This is a breath of fresh air in a genre where many lesser series have predictable plots.

Re:Zero initially came out in 2016, with a second season released in 2020 and a third season in 2024. The first season is the best, though all are worth watching.

Overlord

Overlord established many of the tropes that future isekai anime would follow. It features a highly skilled MMORPG player who is transported into the game world. He becomes one of the most powerful characters in the world and begins defeating fantastical enemies.

One of the more original aspects of this series is that the protagonist is more of an anti-hero than the traditional hero often found in isekai anime. While it does include the commonly seen overpowered main character, the fights remain challenging and interesting. The conflicts are also well-choreographed, with fantastic art and animation.

Overlord was one of the anime that established the conventions of the isekai genre, and it has influenced dozens of notable series since it came out ten years ago.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a breath of fresh air for the genre, as it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Many of the more generic series in the genre are melodramatic and self-serious, but That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a welcome exception.

It follows a regular guy who dies and is reincarnated in a fantasy world as a slime monster. He ends up becoming one of the most powerful beings in the world, building a large and powerful kingdom.

The anime is as lighthearted as the title suggests, but it still features many intense and highly entertaining fights. The protagonist is overpowered, as most isekai protagonists tend to be, but this is done in a fun and creative way, as his slime monster form features numerous unique abilities.